For close to a decade, twenty-five-year-old Felicity Lonsdale has masqueraded as a dowager almost twice her age—selling caterpillars to butterfly consortiums—enabling her to hide an ill-fated past while raising her late brother’s daughters. Together, the three live on an isolated Irish estate bequeathed by a dying earl. When the earl’s estranged son arrives to claim his inheritance by threatening to expose Felicity’s true identity, she longs to pack up her nieces and run. But a ghostly secret within the castle’s turret holds her captive.

Nick Thornton—a Roma viscount’s heir—is also captive. After a tryst with an investor’s wife nearly destroyed his family’s holiday resort, Nick forsook everything to elope with her. However, a tragic mistake at his hand led to her and his baby’s deaths. Refusing to turn to the family he shamed, Nick travels to seek the countess who once co-wrote a romance with his sister. There’s rumor of a special butterfly in her keep—a transparent-winged species with ties to the afterlife. Nick hopes to contact his dead wife and child, for only their forgiveness can free him.

Upon his arrival to Felicity’s estate, Nick offers to help her defeat the earl’s son, on the condition she allow Nick to investigate her glass butterflies. Felicity agrees, though fears the closer he gets to the ghosts of his past, the closer he’ll come to uncovering her own. As Nick spends time with Felicity and her nieces, he realizes the mystery enshrouding this fragile countess and her castle is more intriguing than the ghosts he originally came to find. And perhaps putting his dead to rest and helping her do the same will be his true path to redemption.

Hey everyone! I’m beyond excited to be on the blog tour for The Glass Butterfly by A.G. Howard!! I absolutely LOVED this book!! I hope you enjoy my review!

~*~*~*~

Of the three books published thus far in this series, The Glass Butterfly is definitely my favorite! I feel like I say that with each book in this series, but that’s because this series gets better with each book! The more I delve into this world, the more I love it and these characters, and the more I want MORE.

With The Glass Butterfly, I just absolutely loved everything about it – the atmosphere, the writing, the characters, etc. The thing with the Haunted Hearts Legacy is that, the characters feel VERY real and you come to care for them. I loved Juliet, Lord Thornton, Hawk, Willow and Julian. But there was just something about Nick and Felicity that tugged at my heart. Maybe it was Felicity’s tragic past coupled with Nick’s bad boy behavior (that gets me EVERY time. See also: Morpheus). Maybe it was their chemistry. Maybe it was the plot itself. Or maybe it was all the above. All I know is, it really resonated with me.

I loved Felicity’s sass and strength. She has physical and emotional wounds from her past. In the beginning, they weighed her down and held her back. But she had INCREDIBLE character growth and, eventually, those wounds became like a battle cry, surging her forward and enabling her to realize her own worth, and her desire to live and love.

Nick had an equally tragic past, one which consumed him in so many ways. Like with Felicity, he started out weighed down by his past and his guilt. He burdened himself with things that were not his fault, and he sought redemption. But in the end, he realized that he could still be an upstanding man, despite his past. Honestly, I’ve been anticipating Nick’s story for a LONG time. And it truly didn’t disappoint. I loved learning about his past and seeing what made him behave the way he did in The Hummingbird Heart (and for the record, he DID redeem himself in my eyes. Just saying).

The banter and sexual tension between Felicity and Nick was INTENSE. And they had some HILARIOUS quips. Some of my favorite are below (though, be warned, they are not word-for-word as they were written in the book, and are edited for ease of understanding):

“Well, we’re out of sausage. But it appears you’ve brought your own. And excess, in fact.”

“Ah. You obviously haven’t sampled the right sausage.”

“So, it’s to be a mixed company gathering… I suppose sausage is out of the question.”
“Feel free to indulge on your own… You strike me as a man well versed in servicing himself.”

I cackled SO hard at all the sausage jokes, it was ridiculous! But this book also made me sob. A lot. So this book definitely elicited a LOT of emotions.

Aislinn was wise beyond her years, and and Lia was joyful and sassy – just like her aunt. I also loved Clooney. He was a loving father figure who gave sage advice. He was much needed and appreciated. And, of course, I DESPISED Landrigan. He was disgusting and the very definition of a villain.

The ending was absolutely incredible and had me laughing, crying, smiling and sobbing. It was the perfect ending to a perfect book, and I can’t wait to get my hands on book four!

Overall, this book was epic beyond words. A.G Howard is an amazing writer. Her writing, coupled with her incredible world-building skills, sucks you in and refuses to let you go. Her characters feel like real people and you can’t help but become entangled in their well-being – whether for better or worse. I DEFINITELY recommend this book if you’re a fan of A.G. Howard. Also, if you love ghost stories and epic love stories, this book is definitely for you!

~*~*~

About A.G. Howard:

A.G. Howard was inspired to write SPLINTERED while working at a school library. She always wondered what would’ve happened had the subtle creepiness of Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland taken center stage, and she hopes her darker and funkier tribute to Carroll will inspire readers to seek out the stories that won her heart as a child.

When she’s not writing, A.G.’s pastimes are reading, rollerblading, gardening, and family vacations which often include impromptu side trips to 18th century graveyards or condemned schoolhouses to appease her overactive muse.